Long story, but new tank, new fish, possible parasite?

Rogue_Violetta created the topic: Long story, but new tank, new fish, possible parasite?

Ok, I'll start at the beginning.

We were in the local stockfeeds recently, which isn't unusual (I have a rabbit), and I asked if the guppies int heir tank there had had any fry yet, as they were a pair. We were told they hadn't, and then asked if we had fish. We answered yes, thinking they might want advice. Turns out, the tank had gone busted (all in one setup), and they were unsure what to do, but said we could take the fish, and the tank if we wanted to, and try to fix it.

So, after we've managed to get everything home, and figured out where we we're going to put this unexpected new tank, we found a few problems.

We'd tested the water before moving anything, so we didn't have to worry about running out of water, and the results seemed a bit strange. Turns out the filter had never been cycled, and just needed a clean, and has a water switch. Ammonia and Nitrites were low, as in 0, but the Nitrates were at 40-80. (There was some debate about which colour)

We'd been told the tank hadn't been cleaned in about 3 weeks.

They gave us the stuff they used for the tank- and they saw these guys coming. All various things to add to water to clear it, keep ammonia down, nitra-ban and the like. The flake food was in a tiny plastic tub (no lid) in a freezer bag, and the freeze dried bloodworms container won't seal, so I don't know how good the food was, quality wise.

We treated them as if they had mild nitrate shock, in a container, adding water slowly over a few hours. They perked up right away, and Lightning (male) started trying to pick up Lady (female). We're unsure if he was successful as yet.

We drained as much water as we could out of the tank, but didn't change the gravel. We tried to get as much of the crap out of the bottom as we could, but couldn't use the gravel vac, for quarantine reasons (I'm ordering another one, as I ended up with one for the quarantine tank that doesn't work well with gravel, and I didn't want to risk the one for my main tank), so we probably haven't gotten it all. We also thought that it might help the filter cycle, because it was still warm.

We put the fish back in, and noticed their colours were out more. The light is screwed, so to look at night requires a torch. They're very interactive with people as well.

I gave them a little food, as I wasn't sure when they'd been fed last, and hoped it might help them settle after the shock of being carried in a container for a bit. They happily ate.

The next day, I noticed she was pooping a bit, and it seemed fragmented. I was a bit worried, but kept an eye on her, and it fell away from her fine, like as if a rabbit or cat hair had snuck in and been munched down, and was being expelled. (We have a rabbit and a short haired cat who manage to get fur on everything, however, the stock feeds also have a cat on the premises- we say hello to him when we see him)

Not long later, I noticed Lady was pooping again, a long dark poop. I thought it might just be from the food last night. A few hours later, she was still pooping, but it had changed colour to a kind of white. I spoke to Lammergier, who said it was possibly parasites, which I was concerned about, but could also be constipation, and to keep an eye on her, which I did.

I did not feed them that night to be sure. It took her about 5 hours to get the poop out.

I kept an eye on them the next day, no sunken in bellies, zooming around like mad, completely guppy shaped. No sign of any poop. Before I headed to bed, I gave them a bit of food, some crushed flakes, like the first night, and they were happily eating them. Then I noticed Lady was pooping again... and it was white-grey. They haven't been fed since, and I've tried to keep an eye on them as best as I can. Still no sunken in bellies, or anything odd. Just that poop.

Now, I'm unsure if it could be a parasite or just constipation, perhaps getting the old food out of their system fast, or what.

What do you guys think?

I couldn't get any pics, because the light was very bad, and there's some algae on the tank I haven't cleaned out yet. We thought it might help with the filter, as we were like "Wtf?" with what we were told. The algae is just normal green stuff.

Um... anything else to add... The temp is at 26 C, which is higher than where they were, and they're getting lots of natural light through the windows, as they're on our kitchen bench. We're hoping we can get them all healthy, and let them go into the main tank, as I want to use the tank for the guppy fry- seems one of the boys might have done the deed with one of my females, and I don't want her in with her babies too long.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated. The night of finding out about a potential parasite, I had nightmares about callamanus, so I'd like to get this sorted asap. Not just for their sake, but for the sake of my dreams- callamanus terrifies me! It's like Cthulhu mated with something, that mated with mutated bloodworms... ugh /shudder. I don't think it's callamanus, but I do tend to think the worst, as does my subconscious.

Keeper of the Food Pellets of Malekith the Never Accursed, Lover of Bubbles and Airstones, and Beloved of the Rogue Violetta.

UNC-CH replied the topic: Long story, but new tank, new fish, possible parasite?

This is similar to the problem I was having with my guppy that survived callamanus as well as a betta. Neither had long stringy white poop which is what you read about and what you're describing. I treated them both with api general cure which is metronidazole 250mg and praziquantel 75mg. Minutes after treating, the betta did produce a long stringy white poop and has been normal since. I never noticed any real change in the guppy. I'm going to treat him again.
It could be parasites or a bacterial infection, but it doesn't sound like callamanus.

Rogue_Violetta replied the topic: Re:Long story, but new tank, new fish, possible parasite?

Thanks guys

Lamm came out last night, and it's pretty much guaranteed Lady has a parasite, which means Lightning does too. Lady's too thin.

We're trying to source some Levamisole as quick as we can, but the local vets aren't picking up, the stockfeeds don't carry it, except on order for dredging... we'll see what we can do as quick as we can, I don't want them suffering. We're looking at a few other alternatives as well.

And I do know it's not callamanus, but I made the mistake of googling it on images once... and what has been seen, cannot be unseen...

So when I realised the high possibility of parasites, my dreams decided to throw callamanus at me. /shudder

Keeper of the Food Pellets of Malekith the Never Accursed, Lover of Bubbles and Airstones, and Beloved of the Rogue Violetta.

Rogue_Violetta replied the topic: Re:Long story, but new tank, new fish, possible parasite?

The problem with being in Australia, is that much of what you guys can buy over the counter can be very difficult to procure here- kanamycin, for example. That's vet only here. Some other things are just plain not available full stop. Stupid import laws.

Mr Rogue managed to find a reasonably local place that has quick shipping, and ordered Levamisole Plus, which contains both lev and praziquantel, as far as the info said (he bought it, and I was sleeping wiped out). It should hopefully be here tomorrow.

UNC- we're not entirely sure on the tanks volume. The pump contains a water switch, so we can measure from there, but it was 25 Litres and another half to get the water out to move the tank, so... 25 + 6 = 31, add in water in gravel, and possibly about 35 liters? We'll be properly measuring the water beforehand. Though I'd love if you could PM your notes, I'm no chemistry whiz (didn't get to do that in high school, for some reason they thought I'd blow stuff up, even though I was talking about how bad mercury was, so...), but Mr Rogue knows a little, and Lamm did some chemistry units at uni.

They're starting to look skinny, and they're a bit more subdued, so hoping we can start treatment very very soon. Especially as I'm concerned some fish in my main tank may have something as well- quarantine was broken two weeks early due to a sprung leak. Though it has only been the one instance, but I'm now super paranoid.

Keeper of the Food Pellets of Malekith the Never Accursed, Lover of Bubbles and Airstones, and Beloved of the Rogue Violetta.

UNC-CH replied the topic: Long story, but new tank, new fish, possible parasite?

The hardest part about administering levamisole is getting the dose right. Such a small amount is needed to obtain a 2 ppm solution, I decided to buy a set a measuring spoons that include 1/8th, 1/16th, and 1/32nd teaspoon.

Rogue_Violetta replied the topic: Long story, but new tank, new fish, possible parasite?

Yeah, we made sure it was HCL. A managed to get hold of a vet who straight away knew what we were after, but they didn't have any in stock.

The medication arrived a few minutes ago, direct to the door. So relieved!

We're not that good with those teaspoons (I rather like baking, so I should get onto it, really...), but I do buy the measuring syringes from the chemist. They're getting quite used to it, actually, though now and then I have to remind them it's not the needle ones.

I'll get back to you with more details later, been up 15 hours and was in bed, preparing to sleep when the knock on the door got me up.

Keeper of the Food Pellets of Malekith the Never Accursed, Lover of Bubbles and Airstones, and Beloved of the Rogue Violetta.